Pilates has a strong focus on form. This has both a good and bad side! Focusing on your form serves both the development of healthy movement patterns and building deeper body awareness and meditation through movement. But it can also feed a mindset of perfectionism that can lead to fear of “doing it wrong” and not feeling confident in practicing on your own. I often hear from students that they’re afraid to practice by themselves and that they want to wait until they’ve got it perfect before they practice. And no one gets better at anything without practice!

I love teaching and giving my expert eye and cues to my students to help them improve. But I also know that many people can only do one or two sessions with me a week. And while that is great it’s even better when people add to that practice with some time on their mat at home. Nothing can transform your body in only an hour or two per week… not even Pilates! Even 15 minutes a few times a week can add to your strength, flexibility and understanding of the work.

I love to give people homework and always choose exercises that each person can do safely and effectively. And the form will improve through your practice. You do not have to be perfect! The saying “form follows function” is almost right, in my view the form is the function. They aren’t separate things, they are one and the same. Each exercise is focusing on specific functional movement and through practice the form improves which improves the function, which improves the form, and so on. It’s a never ending cycle of nourishment. By thinking of this practice as the diet of movement you’re feeding your joints and muscles it’s easy to understand why consistent practice is important! Just like our diet of food we need healthy choices daily to accumulate and build our body in a healthy way.

Don’t think you need to be “in shape” to start a Pilates practice! Pilates is for every body and practice is such that we can start where you are and build up from there. I love teaching self proclaimed “couch potatoes” and helping people who have never enjoyed exercise discover how wonderful Pilates is. Through consistent practice you’ll improve your strength, flexibility, posture, balance and quality of life. And just through that practice your form and function will improve as your body awareness grows, without any stress about being “perfect”! Give your body a healthy diet of Pilates and let the practice be the goal and form and function will follow.

Pilates is often touted as a magic method that will transform your body overnight. I hate to burst that bubble but nothing works that fast. The Pilates method is amazing but transforming a body takes time. I feel that the beauty of the method is in it’s mindfulness, not just “toning” your butt for swimsuit season! Of course we need to strengthen and stretch our muscles… but this is most beneficial when it’s connected to learning to move in a more mindful and healthy way. We’ve all got imbalances and modern life isn’t doing our bodies any favors. There’s no special muscle that will fix back pain or shoulder tightness, ultimately it is movement that our body needs. Pilates gives the body all the different movements that we need for a healthy spine and joints. These movements will give you functional skills that transfer to daily life. Things like sitting, standing, chores and hobbies become easier and posture improves through practice. The results of feeling better tend to happen pretty quickly, visible changes in musculature take more time. But feeling and moving better are far more valuable than looking “fit” and having pain and limited mobility.

People usually ask how often they should do Pilates. Like anything it’s just a matter of how much you want to get out of it. One hour long session a week is not going to give you a drastic results. Imagine if you took Spanish only one hour a week how long it would take you to be able to speak Spanish! Learning takes time and practice. If you do some practice at home in between sessions then you’ll get more results. It’s only natural that you get more results the more you do. It’s not magic, it’s work. It’s sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating. Learning new things is like that. Being mindful during exercise is not the norm so building up your skill of mindfulness will go hand in hand with the strength and flexibility people expect. And that will cross over into your life too, giving you invaluable benefits. If you don’t have the patience for meditation Pilates can be a good alternative if you want a mindful practice but don’t feel yoga is right for you.

So while Pilates itself is not magic, the practice of mindful movement really is. It can transform your body, mind and life. With patient practice you might find that you feel better than you have in years and even gain strength and flexibility you didn’t know you could. And it never really stops being both beneficial and challenging, after 30 years of practice I’m still gaining results and learning new things! It continues to help my body and mind and I can’t imagine my life without it.

Pilates is a great fitness method but it’s also wonderful for rehabilitation and also stress relief!

Restorative exercises, foam rolling self massage and stretching are just as valuable as a hard work out. If you feel stressed, fatigued, tight, sore or stiff you could really benefit from a restorative self care session. You’ll learn tools to use at home and can develop a self care routine that will keep you free from pain and functioning in life with freedom in your body. If you want to try this kind of session get in touch. 30 or 60 minutes are available and you can come to the studio in Portland or work online from the comfort of your home or office. Once the pandemic is over I’ll be offering a restorative group class as well. Breathe, move and be well!

I have exciting news!  I have moved my practice into a wonderful space, Vida Coworking in NE Portland. I’m available again for private sessions in person, masks and social distancing required. There are  protocols in place to make it as safe as possible.  I’m also still available online if you prefer.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or want to schedule a session  Let’s keep calm and carry on… with Pilates!

 

 

 

I’m a Pilates teacher, which is essentially a movement teacher. I work with people to learn how to move in healthy ways and to use exercise to heal and increase movement potential. If you have an injury I will use my years of experience and skilled eye and cueing to address exactly what your body needs.  There is no blanket workout for anyone, especially when injuries are present. There’s no book or video or list of exercises that will work for everyone. The thing that helps one person is potentially the worst thing for someone else, even with the same injury.

There is no substitute for personal training. One on one sessions are so valuable.  In these uncertain times I know many people are struggling. This is why I’m offering a pay what you can sliding scale for private sessions online. If you’re interested please get in touch.

This is a short video about the Pilates hundred exercise. It’s the first exercise in the classical mat series. But for many people it’s not really the right starting point.

I’ve shown some ways to modify this to make it more appropriate for you. By breaking the movement down into pieces you can focus on what works while mitigating any pain or issues you might have.

As always listen to your body and don’t do anything that hurts. Practice persistence and patience.  Strength will come, no pain required!

We are all stuck at home now, waiting out this pandemic. Strange and scary times. One good thing is now there are many exercise classes online, including Pilates. If you’re doing a class and it’s working well that’s wonderful! But one thing I have heard again and again is that the Pilates mat work is hard for people’s neck. Many experience neck pain or discomfort. In a class you won’t get personal attention to help adjust and support your alignment. I’m going to offer some explanation and a video of some gentle neck strengthening exercises that will help you find more support for your neck. I’m also available for sessions online if you want to do a private session or with the members of your household. I’m giving a pay what you can sliding scale in light of these challenging times.  You can work on whatever issues or exercises you want, which is the real benefit of private sessions.

So, many Pilates exercises involve curling the head and neck up off the mat. This works the abdominal muscles, obviously, but it also works the neck muscles!  Our neck muscles need strengthening and with a sedentary lifestyle, time spent driving, on a computer or phone and even reading contribute to an imbalance in our neck muscles. Most of us have our head slightly forward of our spine. This creates tightness in the back of the neck. A massage or stretch can alleviate the tension but ultimately we need to strengthen the muscles in the front of our neck so those muscles in the back aren’t so overworked and tight.  By having balanced strength the neck can be more aligned over the spine and this helps with neck, shoulder and back problems as well as improving posture.

By practicing these small neck exercises you will develop strength in the front of your neck. Those deep muscles are like the abs of your neck, they provide support for your neck the same way your abdominals do for your lower back. When they are strong the action of curling up for the Pilates mat exercises will feel better and you’ll be able to maintain healthy alignment in your spine.